Carlson column: It’s a great time to fish for smallies

It is the time of the year when smallmouth bass garner a lot of attention from anglers. These fish spawn when the water temperature reaches the low- to mid-60s. These temps can be found right now on many lakes north of St. Cloud.

Smallmouth are noted for their feisty attitude and aerial acrobatics after being hooked. They will fight long and hard before coming to the boat.

I recently made a trip to Nevis to fish with friend Kelley Cirks. As usual, Cirks had several lakes lined up for us to visit. On the first two lakes, we targeted largemouth, northern, walleyes and crappies. On the third lake, our only goal was to catch smallmouth.

It became apparent after only a few minutes that the smallies were not very deep. The shallow sand and gravel bars were littered with spawning beds and cruising bass.

Although being able to see the fish before trying to catch them seems like a reasonable option, it is important to note that in the super-clear water we were fishing, they could see us just as well. A 20-foot boat must look like the largest predator fish they have ever seen!

Not surprisingly, these fish were very difficult to catch. We did get about a dozen to the boat, but there was no magic lure.

In a recent conversation with Mike Christensen from Hunter Winfield’s Resort in Isle, we talked about the smallmouth action on Mille Lacs. According to Christensen, the bite has been quite impressive.

With the water temperatures reaching the lower 60s, the fish were shallow and active. Quite a few anglers were coming just to target bass.

Christensen said fish were being caught on a number of presentations. Tubes, wacky rigged worms and live bait were all turning fish.

Brainerd angler Dan Sura also has been working the smallies on Mille Lacs. He had found the best presentations to be 4-inch swimming grubs and tube jigs.

There is no doubt that most bass anglers have been targeting largemouth bass. However, smallies do offer a great opportunity.

This is the opinion of Times outdoors columnist Jerry Carlson. Contact him at jerrycarlsonoutdoors.com.